GolfCarolina.com Notebook for May
By Shane Sharp, TravelGolf.com Senior Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Rantings, ravings, and other things admissible as news from around the Carolinas:
Let Down in Greensboro
After going after some of the top names in golf, the Greater Greensboro Classic (formerly the GGO) essentially wound up with defending champ Hal Sutton, and the ever-abrasive Scott Hoch.
Tournament director Jeff Iddings actually flew to Bay Hill in Orlando earlier in the season to recruit the likes of Justin Leonard and David Duval, but both players opted out to prepare for the Texas swing, which begins in earnest this week.
Adding insult to injury was the fact that Hoch pocketed the Sunday paycheck of $630,000. Hoch didn’t let the tournament committee know he was coming until the last minute because he was skeptical of the weather. Once arriving, he saw fit to complain about the tall rough – something that actually favors a short, straight hitter like Hoch.
Hoch was teary-eyed and reflective on the 18th green on Sunday. Pardon us if we couldn’t help but choke down something else.
Webb, Pine Needles Gearing up for Title Defense
White hot woman’s golfer Karrie Webb is stoking up to defend her U.S. Women’s Open Championship at the Donald Ross designed Pine Needles Golf Course in Southern Pines May 31 – June 3. Some of the story lines in this year’s Open are quite compelling: Webb played in her first Open at Pine Needles back in 1996 – the year that Anika Sorenstam won it. Sorenstam will roll into Southern Pines as perhaps the hottest player on the LPGA Tour, stoking the flames of an up and coming rivalry.
Webb was the player of the year in 2000, but Sorenstam has been “da woman” so far this season with an incredible string of four straight victories and an unprecedented 18-hole score of 59.
“What she has don recently is tremendous,” Webb said recently at a press conference at Pine Needles hosted by owner Peggy Kirk Bell. “It’s great for her, and it’s great for the LPGA Tour. As far as a rivalry goes … each of us motivates on another.”
Look for our TravelGolf.com preview of the U.S. Women’s Open later this month.
Plenty of Amateur Golf Around Charlotte
Regent Park Golf Club in Fort Mill, S.C. is hosting the men’s NCAA Division II finals this week, adding to an excellent slate of collegiate events in the Charlotte area. Stonebridge Golf Club in Monroe recently hosted the Carolinas-Virginia conference championships, and the Rock Hill Country Club is hosting the Women’s NCAA Division II National Championship May 14-19.
Up the road in Salisbury, the Crescent Club has been selected as a qualifying site for several major amateur events in 2001. Qualifiers for the U.S. Amateur, the N.C. Amateur, the Carolinas Mid-Am and the Keith Hills Am will all be at the three-year-old, John LaFoy-designed layout.
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The road to the North Carolina Amateur also passes through Crescent on June 5, while a Carolinas Mid-Am qualifier is set for Aug. 21. The Keith Hills Amateur, a well-known statewide event, brings qualifying to Crescent on May 6.
Old College Try
Everything was discounted when you were in college, right? Food, books, clothes … so why not golf. Rocky River Golf Club in Concord and Crescent Golf Club in Salisbury have initiated a program to make golf more affordable to college students. The upscale public courses, both managed by Signet Golf Associates of Pinehurst, are now offering special discount rates to college students who show a valid student ID.
Rocky River’s college rate is $30 for 18 holes with cart, and is available any time Monday through Thursday. That’s a savings of $16 off the regular rate.
“This gives college students a chance to play at a rate that will hopefully fit in their budget,” said Floyd Gragg, head pro at Rocky River, which is located near UNC Charlotte. “We’ve had good response. It’s commonplace to have a group of students come in with their ID’s during the week.”
Crescent’s college rate is $22 for 18 holes with a cart, and is available any time Monday through Wednesday. The regular rate is $32.
Pinehurst No. 4 golf course - North Carolina 
River Golf Club in North Augusta, South Carolina 